


Prides Folly

by SumOfAllThings



Category: Andromeda (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-26 04:18:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3836797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SumOfAllThings/pseuds/SumOfAllThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He doesn't know what's worse. He's alone, the Maru's dead and he's pretty sure Beka is gonna kill him when she finds out. </p><p>Unless of course the Nietzschean beats her to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Harper was not having a good day, which was really saying something if you considered even half the shitty days he had experienced in his relatively young life. His chest chose that moment to seize and he had to practically smother himself to try and hide the sound of his coughing. _Not good_ , he thought frantically, _not good._

He took a tentative breath and was thankful that the coughing had subsided. Sighing, he pressed his hand against his forehead to check for a fever, it was likely given the crappy immune system he had, but he couldn’t tell either way.

Gritting his teeth and expecting the worse he rose slowly from his crouch. When a blaster didn’t immediately knock his head from his shoulders he allowed himself to feel a tiny speck of relief. He’d managed to evade his assailant since they had crashed landed, which meant his newest buddy was either disorientated or hurt. Either outcome was perfectly fine with the engineer.

His eyes swept over his current hiding place and he decided he was way too exposed to stay in the woodland clearing. There was no cover and as far as he could tell there wasn’t any water close by. After a day without anything to drink and all the running about he had done he was getting a little desperate.

He eyed the forest warily, unsure if venturing into unfamiliar terrain was any less likely to get him killed than waiting around for his buddy. _Plus, it’ll make it harder for the others to find me if I go wandering away from the ship_.

 _Of course it won't matter how close i am to the ship if I’m dead_ , he silently countered. He permitted himself a small sigh and decided he needed to keep moving.

After an hour of hiking he knew his pace had started to slow. The foliage was thick and it was exhausting having to work his way through it. Though he had grown up planetside he had only ever know cities and beaches. He was not made for the great outdoors.

As if on cue his leg caught on an outcropping vine and he went down. He didn’t really hurt himself, just another bruise to add to the collection, but the fall was the last straw. He needed to rest or the next time he would break something and then he really would be screwed.

“Giving up already?” An amused voice called out from an unknown direction.

Harper sprang to his feet, his hands reaching for a gun that wasn’t there. He let out a groan of frustration and pressed back until his back was against a tree. It was getting dark, making it even harder to see through the thick forest. “Hey,” he called back, forcing a smile on his face. “I was wondering when you were going to join the party.”

“I wasted time looking for you in the wreck.” The voice called back. It was deep and unmistakingly male with quite a big dollop of arrogance mixed in.

Harper tried to find the source of the voice but he couldn’t pinpoint the direction. He didn’t want to run blind into the heavy woods but he was beginning to think it might be his only choice. He felt his body tense as a nearby bush rustled. The wind or was his new companion that close?

“Your little heart sounds like its about to beat out of your chest, engineer.” A deep intake of breath. “You reek of fear.”

Harper let out a bark of laughter. “The amount of running around I’ve done today I’m pretty sure I just downright stink.” He felt his hand clench and he thought wistfully of his gun, buried somewhere in the Maru. “So I’m guessing you’re a Nietzschean?” He said conversationally. “You want to tell me your name?”

“Why don’t you go first?” The voice was closer now, easier to pinpoint. It was on his right.

“I’m pretty sure you already know my name, what I’m wondering is which pride you’re from. You a Dragon?”

A disdainful sniff. “Hardly.”

“You sure? From experience I know those guys are all seriously lacking in the looks department. Maybe that’s why you’re hiding in the shadows. You’re probably some ugly, dumbass uber dragon...”

“I would hold your tongue if I were you boy.”

“You’re not the first person to tell me that.” Harper said a second before he bolted. He went left and he could have sworn he felt fingers brush against his shoulder. He could hear the Uber right behind him and then suddenly a heavy body impacted with his own and he was on the ground. His must have snorted up some dirt when his face planted into the ground because there went his damn chest again. He struggled to buck the Nietzschean off but the other man must have weighed a damn ton. It took a moment for his newest buddy to realise he was suffocating the engineer.

Suddenly the weight lifted and Harper was propped into a sitting position. The human forgot his assailant for a moment as his lungs tried to work their way out of his mouth. A cup was pressed against his lips and Harper sucked in the liquid greedily. It seemed to help and eventually the coughing subsided and the engineer found himself looking into a pair of extremely pissed off green eyes.

“Asshole!” Harper snapped, though it came out more like a strangled wheeze. He tried again. “You nearly flattened me.”

“If you had not decided to run it would not have been necessary.”

“Yeah, well if you had decided not to blow my ship up I wouldn’t have needed to run.” Harper took a more thorough look at the Nietzschean and felt his stomach drop. Tall, like so many of them were, thickly muscled with short curly brown hair and a typically handsome face. He didn’t look dumb and he certainly didn’t look like he would be easy to beat in a fight. “So, you going to tell me which pride you’re from now?”

Harper was suddenly hoisted to his feet. He felt strong fingers grip his hair and yank painfully. Harper instinctively tried to free himself and he was shook violently for his efforts. “Fair warning little one, I warn you to shut up now and listen. You are coming with me and we are leaving on my ship. You will not try to fight me, you will not try to escape and you will keep your tone civilised. If you do this I will not hurt you.” Another shake. “Is that clear?”

 

“Oh sure.” Harper said, rising onto his toes to try and relieve some of the strain on his hair. “That sounds swell!

The hold moved from his hair to his upper arm. He suddenly found himself being dragged back the way they had come. “Hey!” Harper cried, trying to plant his feet. All it achieved was tripping him up and getting him dragged face first through some bushes. He struggled back to his feet, careful to keep pace. “Are you going to tell me what’s happening? Why did you come after me?”

“I would like you to be quiet now engineer.” The Nietzschean said icily.

“Yeah, well I’d like you to drop dead. Looks like we’re both shit out of luck.”

Harper didn’t register that they had stopped until his was spun round until he was facing the Nietzschean. He saw the raised hand and instinctively raised his own arm to ward off the blow.

“What did I just tell you?” The Nietzschean snarled, his hand still poised. “Did you suppose I was joking?” He suddenly roared.

“Okay, OKAY!” Harper shouted back, cringing away from a hand that was twice as big as his own and could do some serious damage if it connected with his face. “I get it, civilised tongue! I’m sorry!”

He was tugged forward again, more harshly than before. “You have a big mouth for such a little man.”

Harper kept his lips sealed firmly together. He was already getting tired and that little bit of water he had before had done little to sate his thirst. His head hurt, his wrist where the Nietzschean was holding him hurt and his chest kept seizing up, courtesy of what he was now fairly confident was a fever.

He stumbled and the Nietzschean, obviously thinking he was trying to act up gave him a vicious tug which sent the smaller man stumbling to his knees. He felt skin tear and blood began to drip down his legs. “Ow,” He said dispassionately.

He received a growl in response. “Are you hurt?”

“What was your first clue?” Harper snapped, immediately regretting it when a hand snapped out and connected harshly with his jaw.

Harper out.

**

It had gone rather well, all things considered A shame the engineer was so irritating, but that sort of attitude could be easily curbed given the correct handling, though he had to remember to take a less heavy hand in the future given how fragile the little human appeared to be.

Rarick shifted the boy on his shoulder and received a faint groan in response. As the human woke he became stiff and tense. A few more moments passed before a weak hand pressed against the older man’s back. “Put me down.” Came the soft but rather disgruntled command.

“You walk too slowly human.” Rarick answered back, tightening his hold on the human as he felt the small man fidget. He increased his hold until he heard the engineer gasp and fall still.

“You going to tell me where were going?” The human eventually asked. It appeared the annoying creature was incapable of keeping his mouth closed for any period of time.

“To my ship.”

“And then where?”

“You will find out soon enough.”

A slight pause. “Are you going to tell me why you’re doing this?”

“My alpha wants you.” The human’s body convulsed slightly, his own outward sign on the terror that was radiating off him.

“What would an alpha want with me?”

“I have been informed you are uniquely skilled in engineering. A genius, though I find that hard to believe having met you.”

“Hey!” Harper said in an offended tone. “I thought we were being civil.”

Despite himself Rarick had to suppress a chuckle. “You are right, I apologise for any offence.”

“Nothing says I’m sorry like putting a guy down and leaving him the fuck alone.”

He tightened his hold again and the human gasped. “What the hell was that for?”

“You talk too much.”

The human smartly kept his mouth closed. His body remained stiff throughout their trek and fine termers ran periodically down his small frame. He was panicking, though Rarick has to grudgingly admit he was doing an impressive job of outwardly hiding it. When the ship came into view he flinched and started to struggle.

“Put me down!”

“No.”

A small fist made contact with Rarick’s head with surprising force. “Put me the hell down!”

Rarick signed and lowered the engineer to his feet. The boy immediately tried to bolt but the bigger man was ready for him and caught the small man’s bicep before he could take a step. He spun the human around and raised his hand but was taken by surprise when a steel boot connected with his groin area. Pain exploded and he very nearly gave into weakness and collapsed. Through sheer will alone he managed to retain his hold on the thrashing human, though he could not help but fall to one knee. He breathed slowly through his nose as he willed the pain away, all the while holding the human at arms length to ensure he couldn’t do anymore damage.

“That.Was.Very.Stupid.” He eventually ground out.

The human had stilled beside him. His heart was beating so fiercely in his chest that Rarick was convinced it would beat its way out of the delicate cavity. He eyed the other man clinically, noticing his flushed skin and glassy eyes. Rarick had been warned of the engineers limitations and deducted the small man was burning with a slight fever. “You’re sick.” The Nietzschean said slowly. “You wouldn’t last a day out in the forest.”

“I’ll take my chances.” The other man ground out.

“You will be punished for raising not only your fist to me but attacking me in such a dishonorable way.”

“Are you stupid? You’re twice my size. How the hell else am I supposed to –“

He slapped the human, open handed and with a reserve he had not exhibited earlier that day. The boy cried out and would have fallen if it wasn’t for the grip on his arm. Rarick pulled him close until their bodies were flush. Down on one knee as he found himself looking directly into the engineers wide and frightened blue eyes. “You are lucky I do not return the favour and shatter whatever it is that passes for your manhood.” Though he would have thought it impossible the little human’s eyes widened further. He was shivering again, though Rarick was unsure if was from fear or the fever. “Never do it again.”

A slight nod.

“We will enter my ship now. You will behave and you will do as you are told. If you don’t I’ll hurt you.” He tightened his hold on the human’s bicep until the boy let out a muffled cry of pain. “Tell me you understand.”

A sharp nod.

“I said tell me, now speak!”

The human bristled but it was clear he was reaching the end of his endurance. “I understand.” He snapped.

Rarick caught the boys gaze and started him down until the little human eventually broke eye contact. Satisfied, the Nietzschean got slowly to his feet, trying not to outwardly show the pain he felt radiating in his groin. He pulled the human after him with a bit more force than was strictly necessary but the boy kept up with him without comment.

When they reached the ship entrance the little human pulled back slightly so Rarick spun the boy under one arm and hoisted him easily inside. The engineer did not struggle, though he was muttering softly under his breath.

Rarick brought him to the crew quarters and dropped him on a thin cot. He already had a chain prepared and attached into the boys thin ankle. The human’s stricken expression caused him pause for a moment. The human clearly did not take well to being restrained.

He stepped out of the room to collect medical supplies and returned to find the human huddled against the wall with his arms wrapped firmly around his knees. He was breathing deeply and was clearly sucombing to his fever. Even as he watched the human went through a series of breath stealing coughs. It was truly pathetic and a testament to his weak blood.

“I have medicine.” Rarick said as he approached. The human didn’t acknowledge him and when the Nietzschean drew out the engineers thin arm he received no response. Rarick administered the medication and regarding the human thoughtfully. “I would advise you to get some sleep.”


	2. Chapter 2

The humans fever was high and he was hallucinating. When Rarick tried to attend to him the boy’s ice blue eyes were wide and terrified. He flattened himself against the bed, clearly struggling not to react when Rarick pressed a cool cloth against his fever hot skin.

“You’re not Tyr.” He said, his voice small and lost. He looked confusedly back at the Nietzschean’s bone blades before his lips pulled back into an unbecoming snarl. “I don’t like ubers.”

“I am aware.” Rarick said, unamused by the boys challenging expression. His instincts were telling him to meet the challenge and rip the inferior being to shreds. He tempered down his more primal urges, knowing the child didn’t know what he was doing.

“Where’s Beka?” He asked, his voice suddenly small and desperate. Those eyes met Rarick’s, glassy and unfocused. “Oh shit, the Maru. She’ll kill me when she finds out.” His expressions sharpened, turning to one of horror. “Is this my punishment? Did she put me back on Earth? God, am I back?”

The engineer started to truly panic then, thrashing so badly that Rarick was forced to tie the infuriating little creature to the bed to keep him from hurting himself. 

He checked on him periodically and by the next day the fever had broken and the boy was stable. He slept for the remainder of the day, not even stirring when Rarick untied him, though he was sure to keep the ankle chain in place. When he came in in the evening he was pleased to see the little engineer was sat up in the bed and his eyes were clear.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” He meet Rarick’s eyes unflinchingly. “I need to pee.”

“If you wish to relieve yourself you will ask me in the correct manner.”

The human snorted. “What, you get off on making me beg not to pee my pants? Fine, whatever makes you feel superior. Can I please pee?”

He very nearly hit the human and he could tell by the wariness in the engineers face that he was half expecting it. Instead he reached out and pinched the skin on the human’s thigh. The boy yelped and quickly drew his legs up to his chest. His expression was unbelieving.

“You are lucky you were so ill otherwise you would receive more than a mere pinch for your flippancy.”

“Yeah, like what? You going to smack me around the head a bit more cause I gotta tell you, it’s pretty hard but it’s not Nietzschean proof.”

Rarick caught the human’s ankle, forced his leg straight on the bed and pinched his thigh in the exact spot as before. The boy practically howled, curling in on himself protectively. Suddenly he looked up, his expression fierce despite how worn-out he still looked. “Does torturing mud foots make you feel like you’re genetics are just so much more superior? Does it make you feel strong?”

Rarick leaned in close and the engineers head hit the bunk with a dull thud. “Disciplining you is hardly the same as torture, little one. Believe me, I know the difference. Now, you are sick and hurt. I am well and I am much stronger than you, so why don’t you stop acting the fool and keep your mouth firmly closed unless I tell you otherwise. Yes?”

The human just stared at him.

“Nod your head, else I’ll leave you to sit here in your own piss.”

For a moment he thought the human would force his hand but eventually he dropped his gaze and gave a small nod. “Good boy.” Rarick said, ruffling the human’s hair for a moment, ignoring the way the boy jerked his head free as he bent down to undo the chain. “Can you walk unaided.”

The answer was no, he quickly realised when the engineer got steadily to his feet only for his legs to immediately give way beneath him. Rarick caught him, breathing heavily through his nose as he tried to dispel the anger he felt at being forced to care for a weakling. 

He took the boy to the washroom but refused to help him relieve himself. The human seemed glad of it and managed to stay upright as he pissed. When he was done the Nietzschean simply picked him up and carried him back to the bunk.

“I suppose telling you I don’t want you to fucking touch me is against the no talking rules.” He hissed as soon as Rarick set him back down.

The Nietzschean resisted the urge to sigh as he caught the same stretch of skin beneath his fingers and pinched down hard. The human managed to stifle his scream but his eyes were watering when he met Rarick’s gaze. “You suppose correctly.” He said, before getting up to fetch the human refreshments. 

****

Harper wasn’t used to staying in one place for more than a few minutes. He sure as hell wasn’t used to not talking, but then the pulsating agony on his thigh was beginning to persuade him to keep his trap closed.

“We’ll be arriving at my base soon” The Uber said, stepping into Harpers space as he towered over the engineer in a typically dominant pose. “Will you need me to carry you or can you walk?”

The idea of being carried, of showing that much weakness in front of other Nietzschean’s was too terrifying to even comprehend. So what he meant to say was no, he could walk. What he actually said was. “Go fuck yourself you Uber piece of shit.”

And people actually called him a genius. Well, he mostly called himself a genius but he had heard other people say it too. Or at least he thought he had.

“Oh Christ.” He shouted, or was it a scream? Damn, he was crying again. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Are you physically incapable of closing your mouth or do you in fact enjoy being hurt?”

“The first one I think.” It was instinctive, it really was. He’d had a sass mouth since he was old enough to talk. It used to be his only weapon. He looked up at the Nietzschean, grabbing the brutes arm as he tried to twist his leg away. “Please, stop! I’m sorry OK? I know, you need me to shut up and I’m trying -”

“This is you trying?” The bastard interrupted incredulously. 

“I really fucking am.” He realised he was still holding onto the Uber’s arm and released it like it had burnt him. “Look, I know I’m pissing you off and I get that you’ve found a swell way to torture me but seriously, if you keep it up I’m pretty sure you’re going to cause nerve damage. I don’t want to walk for a limp for the rest of my life.”

“Then - shut - up.”

The Nietzschean was freaking terrifying. Seriously, he could give a magog a run for their money. “I told you I’m trying. I’m not used to being kidnapped. I usually spend most of my time of the ship. Well, most of the time. Sometimes I get sent out on missions and sometimes people make a beeline for me. I mean seriously, do I have a fucking bullseye on my chest? I get it though, the token earther. The easy target- fuck, what are you doing?”

The latter came out as a squeak as a thick hand wrapped around his throat, applying gentle pressure. “We are going now.” He said, squeezing hard for a moment before abruptly letting go. 

The chain came off and Harper was dragged to his feet. He was just finding his footing when the uber dropped to his knees and pulled out a small leather collar.

“No.” Harper snarled, pulling back hard. All the good it did him. He saw the furious look pass over the Nietzschean’s face and attempted to curl into himself. Jesus, why couldn’t he keep his stupid fucking mouth closed.

“Do you intend to fight me?” A surprisingly gentle hand gripped his chin and forced him to bear his throat. “You realise it will not end well for you.”

For once Harper couldn’t make himself speak. He gave his head a diminutive shake and felt the hard leather strapped into place on his throat. A slave collar. He thought, feeling oddly numb. All these years and they had finally pinned him with a fucking slave collar. He resisted the urge to reach up and touch it, knowing if he did he would end up clawing his own throat out to get it off.

“Good boy.” The uber said, ruffling his hair like he was a well behaved dog. The grip on his bicep moved to his wrist. “Come along then.”

Harper stepped forward when he was pulled, glaring daggers into the ubers back. “I’m going to kill you for this.” He said without thinking. He didn’t even regret it when the grip on his arm became almost unbearably tight.

“You should be careful about threatening a Nietzschean in this manner boy. We take potential dangers to our continued existence very seriously.”

“I meant it. Before I leave here, and believe me I will, I’m going to make sure I’ve taken you down.” 

The uber spun around and stared down at Harper for a long moment before a slow smile broke out on his face. Before Harper could even tense a hard shoulder rammed into his stomach and he was hoisted up into the air and draped across the Nietzschean’s back.

“What the hell are you doing?” He cried.

“How quickly you go from threatening me to panicked little cries.” The Nietzschean said, laughing mockingly as he carried Harper to the hatch. “Pathetic little threats from a pathetic little man.” 

Whatever Harper was about to say was swallowed the moment the hatch opened and he saw exactly what he was up against. Nietzschean’s, everywhere. Absolutely fucking everywhere. And where was he? Collared and upside down on some ubers fucking shoulder like a sack of potatoes with no well in hell of defending himself. 

“You’ve done well Rarick.” A voice called out a moment before Harper felt a hand wrap in his hair. His head was forced to a painful angle and then a Nietzschean woman was peering down at him. “He is unharmed?”

“Mostly. Has there been any enquires?”

“Several.” She smirked down at Harper before releasing her grasp. “Hunt is frantic.”

Harper twitched at the sound of Dylan’s name. They were looking at him? Good, that meant they would find him. They always did. And if they couldn’t Harper would eventually find a way to contact them to tell them where he was. Either way the collar was coming off.


	3. Idiot, Thy Name be my Mouth

It wasn’t a great first introduction to the Nietzschean’s pride. Harper heard a loud piercing cry a moment before a Perseid broke into view, back-peddling desperately away from an murderous looking Uber.

“Madam, please! I didn’t mean to intrude.” The chin head looked terrified, hunched over with his arms covering his head as he continued to back away. “It was just for, ah, a pursuit of higher knowledge. I meant no disrespect.” 

The Nietzschean, a statute and beautiful woman with dark brown hair and caramel skin, pulled out her dagger and started slowly spinning it in her hand. “The pursuit of knowledge?” She hissed, advancing on him. “You were trying to poison my water you snivelling little worm.”

“Not at all! The compound I was adding to your beverage was merely meant to put you asleep for a few hours. I apologise for the deceit, truly I do, but you wouldn’t let me rest and I was becoming desperate for sleep. How can I work for you when I’m so exhausted? I didn’t-”

His words cut off into a desperate gurgle as the Nietzschean dragged her blade across his throat. Blue blood poured out, spilling over the Perseids chest, the floor and the Uber that had just killed him. He collapsed to his knees and then fell facedown on the floor.

Harper went very still, watching with wide eyes as the woman knelt down next to the dead Perseid and wiped her blade clean on his ragged tunic. She stood up and snarled as a tall, silver haired Nietzschean approached. He grabbed the woman by her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. “We needed it you fool.” He hissed, his expression more annoyed that truly angry.

“It tried to poison me.”

“More fool you for giving it the opportunity.”

“Well I think we can both agree that the opportunity certainly no longer exists.” She snarled back, pushing him away with a mean smile. “Truly, it was so irritating that I should be awarded for not killing it sooner.” 

That was about all Harper could take. He punched into the Nietzschean’s back, hard. “Let me down.” He demanded.

“Hush.” The Uber said, sounding distracted. 

“Put me the fuck down.” He shouted, and opps, everyone in the room was now looking at him. Fuck it. “Get off.” He raised both of his fists and brought them down as hard as he could on the ubers back. “Get OFF!”

“Be silent.” The Nietzschean growled.

Harper had seriously just about had enough. The chick that had decided his hair made an awesome handhold was still standing next to them so Harper reached out and gripped the dagger that was carelessly sticking out of her belt. The uber clearly wasn’t expecting it, and neither was the oath holding him judging by the idiots sudden intake of breath. Harper pressed the dagger against the Nietzschean’s ribs and pressed hard. “Unless you want to end up the same way as the chin head over there I would put me down, slowly.” He said, forcing his voice to stay calm. “Come on, on your knees.” 

He didn’t seriously think he was going to get away with whatever his stupid fight or flight instincts were making him do so he was only a little surprised when he was flipped over the Ubers shoulder. He landed hard on his back and even though he’d managed to keep hold of the dagger he released it a moment later when a booted foot pressed down hard on his wrist. Harper heard a snap and only barely managed not to scream. 

“Is that Hunts pet engineer then?” The white haired Nietzschean asked, stepping away from the dead Perseid to loom over Harper. He looked over at the humans captor. “The little Kludge nearly had you then Rarick.”

The Nietzschean, Rarick, sneered as he bent down and hoisted Harper back to his feet by his hair. “Hardly.” He said dismissively before shooting the woman an annoyed look. “You should learn to keep hold of your weapons Maria.” 

“I’ve got a handy idea.” Harper said as he tried to pull the ubers hand out of his hair. “Why don’t you get the fuck off me and you to go can just go to town on each other. Broken bones are encouraged.”

The woman looked down at Harper like he was the lowest possible lowest form of life before she hit him, hard.

“Ouch.” He groaned, spitting out blood. He realised he was on the floor and looked up at the Nietzschean’s looming over him. “There’s nothing quite like beating and killing people to make life's little foibles so much easier to bear.” He said and immediately started backing up when the woman crouched down next to him.

Her hand shot out, curling around his chin and forcing his face up. She didn’t need to bother, he was already meeting her eyes. “You’re not people, mud foot.” She hissed, squeezing hard enough that there would be bruises. “You aren’t anything.”

“Not true.” Harper said, ignoring the pain and the insistent voice in his head telling him to shut up. “Actually I’m a certified freaking genius and the head engineer of the most famous warship in the galaxy. But then you already knew that, just like everyone here seems to know exactly who I am. But you, well I don’t have a fucking clue who you are and next time I’m at a summit meeting I’m pretty sure that if I said your name no one there would know who you are either.” His smile was more of a grimace. “And that means that to me you aren’t anything sweetheart, other than a murdering piece of sh-”

He was frankly amazed he’d gotten as far as he had before the bitch broke his arm.


	4. Marked

After they made a lousy job of patching him up they thrust him into the hands of a scowling Über kid who's painfully tight hold on Harper’s upper arms conveyed just how pissed off the honour made him.

“Don’t take your eyes off him,” Rarick commanded, his expression fierce as he stared down at the smaller man. “Do not allow him near any electronics or tools.”

The hold tightened painfully and Harper fliched. “The human is weak, harmless. I should be in training instead of babying it.”

“You should be doing exactly what I tell you to do boy,” Rarick snarled, forcing the kid to shuffle backwards, dragging Harper with him. “You’ll answer to our alpha if you allow him out of your sight.”

“Apologies commander,” the boy said, eyes wide from the threat. Harper was fairly sure he would have bowed if the engineer wasn’t in his way.

“See that the human is properly clothed, marked and fed and then return him to me.”

“Marked?” Harper asked, straining against the bruising hold on his arms. “What the hell do you mean by marked?”

Rarick turned back to Harper with a serious expression. “You’re to be marked as a slave of our tribe. You come from Earth do you not? Surely you are familiar with this practice?”

Words escaped him as a torrad of past memories whirled through his mind. Hiding in sewers as the Nietzschean slavers searched above, terrified. People screaming, people dying. Releasing the marked slaves who had to bear the label of ownership for their whole lives.

He moved before he really thought it through, twisting around enough to throw the kids weight solidly over his shoulder. In the same motion he grabbed a knife on the brats belt and pulled it loose.

“Over my dead fucking body,” he snarled, and god help him he meant it. They weren’t forcing a mark on him now. Not after everything he had done. Everything he had seen. He wasn’t some punk kludge anymore.

Harper thought he saw a spark of surprise on Rarick’s face before the kid was back on his feet, his expression murderous. “Oh yeah,” Harper said, bearing his teeth in a mean smile. “You just got put down by a kludge. How’d it feel junior?”

The kid roared but he barely took a step before Rarick caught him by his vest and all but dragged the boy off his feet. “He is armed, little fool,” the older man said before turning to Harper. “That is the second time you have taken a weapon from one of my people. You are very quick, little man. I will grant you that. However, you realise you are surrounded by Nietzschean’s, stranded in our camp? There is no escape for you.”

“You’re not marking me,” Harper snarled, ready to do some real damage if either one of them got too close.

“You will be marked,” Rarick said, stepping forward. Harper silently cursed himself for immediately giving ground and stepping back. "And if you do not give me the blade you will be hurt, again. Do you so eagerly seek out punishment?”

“What can I say,” Harper hissed, falling into a defensive crouch. “I’m flawed that way.”

Harper would have liked to say he managed to get in at least a couple of decent hits, but the Über moved with a speed and strength Harper didn’t have a hope in hell competing against. He went down, hard, hitting his head of the deck with enough force to make him see stars. He felt the knife taken from his unresisting fingers and then he was hoisted back to his feet and forced back into the boy's arms.

“You will ensure he doesn’t get his hands on any more weapons,” Rarick snarled, speaking over Harper’s head. “And remember what I told you about electronics. Do not let him near anything.”

The boy did bow this time, forcing Harper down with him. It made his head swim. He wondered how the kid would feel about having human chow all over his shiny boots. “Yes, commander. I won’t fail you again.”

Rarick grunted before reaching out and grabbing Harper’s chin, forcing his head up. “You will obey. Am I understood?”

“Go fuck yourself,” Harper snarled. The backhanded slap he received in reply almost knocked him unconscious. His legs gave out and he couldn’t seem to make his mind focus.

He heard them speaking before he was suddenly thrown over the kid's shoulder and carried down the hall. Each step made his head spin. He could feel blackness clawing at the edges of his vision before abruptly everything turned black.


End file.
